I have a small back yard, much of which is shaded at any given time. In the morning, the back of the yard is the first to get the sun but by afternoon that area is in the shade.

I'd like a light seeking robot plant stand that would have a solar cells all around it. In addition to providing power
for the robot, the computer controlling the robot could measure the difference in the power being supplied by the cells and move the stand to maximize the available light.

Ideally, the solar cells would generate sufficient power to power the entire contraption.

It would also be nice if the robot had a homing feature that would let it dock in a specific place at night so that the plant could be watered/fed.

How could you make use of the plant itself for both the power and the intelligence needed? I'd want to minimise the need for additional components

Presumably if plants did not need to be rooted in soil, at least some variants would have evolved some form of mobility, and clearly they are good at responding to the light in many ways, including physical motion (turning towards the light etc.) so already have some of the necessary capabilities and functions.

(OK - tumbleweeds and airplants etc aren't rooted, and have ended up evolving 'being able to be moved' rather than 'being able to move')

Key questions:

- can we harness photosynthetic (chemical) energy directly to generate kinetic energy?
(There could be many useful applications!!)

- can we utilise existing plant-based systems to respond positively to light so that the plant will be its own sensor system?